But, He Spit in My Coffee

A Reads-Like-Fiction Memoir About Adopting a Child with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD)

By: Keri Williams

Narrated by: Cindy Piller

A desperate mother must grapple with impossible choices as her young son becomes too dangerous to live at home, but is only growing bigger, stronger, and more violent while in treatment. When Keri and her husband adopt Devon, he has concerning behaviors, but she's confident all he needs is the love of a forever family.

Devon's hidden history of early childhood trauma quickly takes center stage when Devon throws screaming fits, yanks his bedroom door off its hinges, chases his classmates with a knife, and pushes his younger brother down the stairs and viciously karate-chops him in the throat.

When Devon is admitted to a psychiatric residential treatment facility at age 10 and is diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), Keri is faced with an impossible choice -- Devon is too dangerous to live at home, but he's not getting better in treatment. Keri must race against time to find help for Devon and keep her other children safe, as he grows bigger, stronger, and more violent.

Based on a shocking true story, this reads-like-a-novel memoir exposes the dysfunctions of the child welfare and mental health systems and how they fail kids with RAD and their families.

• 2022 IndieReader Discovery Award Winner
• 16th National Indie Excellence Award Winner
• 11th Annual Kindle Book Award Winner
• 2022 Wishing Shelf Award Finalist

©2022 Keri Williams (P)2023 Keri Williams

If you can't explain your adopted child's behavior, it's probably RAD!

The most relevant book on adoption plus trauma I've ever read!! I appreciate your honesty and relatable style of writing! I could identify with so much of what you and your family experienced. Our daughter is now attending a therapeutic boarding school in Jamaica that specializes in RAD! It's an absolutely blessing to have found them!

A must read for anyone who knows someone with a RAD child.

If you are raising a child with RAD, I suspect this story will sound like an echo of your life. I believe this book is a beacon for Rad families in another way….to provide a window to all of those who have no idea what it’s like. The more Rad is brought forward and a light is shown on the trauma, isolation, and judgment that these families experience will hopefully lead to help and a better understanding of this complex disorder.

Thank You!

I am a 4.5 yr foster momma and we adopted in 2021. I appreciate your first-hand knowledge. So many families are struggling and suffering in silence. Our adoption was a blessing, but I have friends who are living the nightmare you described in your book. My heart aches for them tenfold after reading your book. God bless you and your children for sharing your trials with all of us.

Validation

Reading this book felt like she was writing about my son, right down to the issues with the shoes.
This sheds light on our very very broken mental health system.

Brave and Courageous!

If you really want to understand the mass violence incidents that are happening in the world today, please read Keri’s story which reads like fiction but it is a real testament to what is happening today because there are truly no mental health resources to help those who have been traumatized/victimized at an early age. The system is broken. We need to understand that these horrific incidents are a societal issue that needs attention and action NOW.

Please read and share and you will understand how real this struggle is. We, as a society, will continue to reap the consequences of taking no action to fix a broken system and, instead, we will continue to blame poor parenting, police inaction, weapons, etc. instead of addressing the real issue of having inadequate resources to treat those suffering from mental illnesses.

(Spoiler alert, there is a haunting reference to the MSD tragedy in this book as Keri’s son was born on Feb 14th and turned 16 on the very same day of this horrific tragedy. This really hit it home for me as victims of that tragedy live in my neighborhood. To this day the MSD tragedy has effected everyone in our community and continues to have a ripple effect on the mental health of those that live in the community.)

I’m an thankful to the author for sharing her story to make others aware, as I know it must have been very painful to share and re-live all the intimate details of her life! Vivid and graphic storytelling and, at times, had me gasping!